In the early hours of Saturday, terrorists launched a fresh attack on the Dogon-noma community, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, and abducted 15 women and a man.
The attack came barely three days after one person was killed, and eight women were kidnapped in the Banono Angwaku community of the same local government council.
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A resident of the area, Mr. Istifanus Ma’aji, confirmed the figure to Sunday Punch on Saturday.
The former chairman of the council, Cafra Caino, had earlier confirmed the fresh attack to one of our correspondents.
Istifanus could only confirm that 15 women and a man were kidnapped.
He said, “We cannot authoritatively confirm the total figure, because most of the villagers ran for their lives when the attackers struck.
“We can only confirm the figure when we can access the village.”
According to him, the attackers invaded the village around 5.30am in large numbers and shot indiscriminately.
Caino said, “We have yet to get the number of casualties because the locals ran for their lives when the assailants invaded the community.
“The community had some time in 2019 come under heavy attack, leading to the loss of 74 persons; the community has recently been experiencing attacks.”
In recent weeks, the Kajuru and Chikun local government areas have become hotbeds of attacks and kidnapping, causing tension in the state.
More than a week after gunmen abducted 287 schoolchildren in the Kuriga community, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, anxious parents of the pupils have lamented what they described as a “total blackout” of information regarding the rescue efforts.
They also complained that they had yet to get the right support from the Kaduna State Government.
According to one of the parents, “Since 2014, villages and communities such as Kwalakwangi, Dokan-Ruwa, Maikyasuwa, and Shadow have been deserted. All the 11 primary schools in those communities have been forcefully closed down for fear of attacks by bandits.
“At Old Kuyello, due to the infiltration of the Ansaru (Boko Haram splinter group), only Arabic teaching is allowed in the primary school. The Ansaru dictates the curriculum based on its doctrine. These terrorists are a government and adjudicate in disputes in that area.”
A community leader in Kuriga, Jubrin Aminu, said since the abduction of the schoolchildren, there had been tension in the community, as most of the parents of the abducted were traumatised.
“The stage of their trauma can be likened to a sick person who needs oxygen to survive. We are worried that since the hurried arrangement for the governor to visit the community, no government official has visited us, and nobody is talking to us.
“The security situation in Kaduna is not getting any better.”
Following the mass abduction of 287 schoolchildren in Kuriga, over 40 primary schools have been shut down for fear of being attacked, and many communities have deserted.
The Education Secretary of the Chikun Local Government Area, Dr. Ibrahim Bulus, disclosed this on Saturday to the newspaper in Kaduna.
According to him, the schools were temporarily shut down until the government beefed up security in the troubled areas.
“If the government beefs up security in the troubled areas, we can reopen the schools next week. We have to ensure the safety of our students, which is more important.
“This is a great setback, particularly for us in the education sector.”
He added that LGEA Primary Schools 1 and 2, Kuriga, were among the closed schools, in addition to those outside Udawa and LGEA Kaso village and schools outside Gwagwada and Kasarami clusters, adding some of the clusters had five to six schools.